The
four—Laud
Ngulube,
Tobias
Dube,
Nkosilathi
Ncube,
and
Givemore
Ngwenya—were
found
guilty
by
Bulawayo
High
Court
Judge
Justice
David
Mangota
on
charges
of
murder
and
attempted
murder.
They
were
convicted
of
murdering
53-year-old
Ernest
Dube
and
attempting
to
murder
20-year-old
Ashley
Manyemba,
whom
they
assaulted
and
left
for
dead.
According
to
the
State,
the
incident
occurred
when
the
four
were
part
of
an
eight-member
machete
gang
that
attacked
the
Arda
Balu
Mining
Compound.
State
prosecutor
Kudakwashe
Jaravaza
told
the
court
that
on
August
20,
2020,
Dube,
who
worked
as
a
security
guard
for
Wellock
Security
Company,
was
on
duty
with
Manyemba
when
they
were
ambushed.
“On
August
20,
2020,
at
around
6
PM,
Dube
and
Manyemba
started
their
guard
duties
at
the
main
gate
of
Arda
Balu
Estate
in
Umguza.
Manyemba
went
home
for
supper,
leaving
Dube
alone
at
the
gate,”
Jaravaza
said.
“At
around
8:30
PM,
as
Manyemba
was
walking
along
an
unnamed
road,
he
encountered
three
men
coming
from
the
direction
of
the
Arda
Balu
Estate
main
gate.
They
attacked
him
and
left
him
for
dead.
“Manyemba
later
regained
consciousness
and
realized
he
was
bleeding
from
the
head.
He
returned
home
and
informed
his
supervisor,
Joseph
Chimucheka,
who
arranged
for
a
neighbor
to
provide
first
aid.
Chimucheka
then
went
to
the
main
gate
to
check
on
Dube.
When
he
arrived,
he
found
Dube
lying
lifeless
in
a
pool
of
blood
inside
the
guard
room.”
Jaravaza
added
that
Chimucheka
reported
the
incident
to
the
police
at
ZRP
Arda
Balu
Base.
Upon
investigation,
officers
found
that
a
.303
service
rifle
and
a
magazine
with
10
rounds
were
missing.
Additionally,
the
logbook
used
to
record
vehicles
entering
the
estate
had
been
torn
apart.
“On
August
21,
2020,
at
around
8
AM,
Tobias
Dube
was
apprehended
by
members
of
the
public
at
Joker
Mine,
Umguza,
following
an
altercation.
At
approximately
11
AM,
police
received
a
tip-off
about
three
men
armed
with
machetes
at
Plot
Number
6
Hellenvale,
Umguza,”
Jaravaza
said.
“Police
officers
acted
on
the
information
and
found
that
members
of
the
Neighborhood
Watch
Committee
had
already
detained
Laud
Ngulube
and
Givemore
Ngwenya.
With
the
help
of
a
police
dog,
officers
joined
in
the
pursuit
of
Nkosilathi
Ncube,
who
was
eventually
apprehended
at
Mguni
Farm,
Umguza.”